Negresă, Romanian cocoa cake with caramelized apples

Name: Negresă, Romanian cocoa cake with caramelized apples
Ingredients: 2 eggs; 200 g sugar (or 400 g for a sweeter version); 480 ml Fanta or milk; 240 ml oil; 500 g flour; 30 g cocoa; 10 g baking soda; 30 g chopped walnuts or 60 g jam; 200 g sugar; 20 g butter; 6 medium apples (900 g)

Dessert - Negresă, Romanian cocoa cake with caramelized apples by Crenguta B. - Recipia

Negresă, Romanian cocoa cake with caramelized apples, is served for dessert, cold and cut into slices, with its golden layer of fruit on top. The cocoa and Fanta batter stays moist and denser than a loaf cake; I choose firm apples so the slices keep their shape, and their tartness cuts through the caramel’s sweetness. Preparation: 25 minutes. Cook time: 47 minutes. Rest: 60 minutes. Total time: 132 minutes. Servings: 12. Approximately 550 kcal and 7 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the cake

2 eggs
200 g sugar (or 400 g for a sweeter version)
480 ml Fanta or milk
240 ml oil
500 g flour
30 g cocoa
10 g baking soda
30 g chopped walnuts or 60 g jam

For the topping

200 g sugar
20 g butter
6 medium apples (900 g)

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 180°C and line a 30 × 40 cm pan with parchment paper. 2. Beat the eggs with 200 g of sugar until almost all of it has dissolved. For a sweeter version, use 400 g of sugar. Pour in the Fanta or milk and mix, then gradually stir in the flour. Add the oil, cocoa, baking soda and chopped walnuts or jam; mix until you have a batter looser than a loaf cake batter. 3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, until the surface has set but the middle still looks slightly soft. 4. While the cake bakes, put 200 g of sugar in a nonstick pan over low heat for 4 minutes, until golden. Add the butter, then the peeled apples, cut into rings or cubes. Cook for 8 minutes, until they are browned and golden. 5. Take the pan out of the oven, spread the caramelized apples over the cake and bake for another 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 6. Leave the cake to cool for 60 minutes before cutting it.

Notes

I kept the recipe I found online when I was a kid and looking for new ideas, and only tried the caramelized apple topping now. It turned out really well. There is diabetes in my family, so I use 200 g of sugar in the batter; the sweeter version has 400 g. Firm, slightly tart apples hold their shape better, while very soft ones fall apart in the pan. Sugar darkens quickly, so take the pan off the heat when it turns golden. Letting the cake cool slowly helps the topping set and the slices cut cleanly; I serve it plain, with black tea. The jam can be replaced with 3 grated apples; for the upside-down version, caramelize a few pieces of fruit in the pan and pour the batter over them. Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.